THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. The information requested hereunder is for planning purposed and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued or contract awarded. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect cost or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of information. Responses to the notice will not be returned. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any improperly identified proprietary information. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with Government regulations.

The purpose of this notice is to identify small businesses, which are capable of performing the potential work described below. For the purposes of this announcement, a "small business" is defined as an entity, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, and qualified as a small business under the criteria and size standards in 13 CFR Part 121. The SBA small business size standard for NAICS Code 334511, Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical Systems and Instrument Manufacturing, is 750 employees.

NOAA's Office of Coast Survey (OCS) is responsible for acquiring hydrographic data in support of NOAA's nautical charting program. This is accomplished using a mix of NOAA-owned and contract survey vessels. Coast Survey also establishes standards, creates project instructions, and evaluates the adequacy of survey data collected by field units. Survey information is then applied to nautical charts by OCS cartographers.

OCS requires an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) capable of collecting swath bathymetric data in conformance with NOAA standards for nautical charting data.

A Statement of Work is attached.

Small businesses are requested to submit a capability statement which clearly demonstrates their firm's capability and experience in directly providing the deliverables in the Statement of Work.

Capability statements must not exceed 10 pages and shall include the following: a cover letter, identifying the point of contact, telephone number, fax number and email address; DUNS number; size and type of small business, including average annual revenues for the past 3 years; additional documentation such as company literature and brochures (a mere referenced website is unacceptable for purposes of this announcement and will not be considered or reviewed.).

In addition, please provide a list of at least three (3) relevant ongoing or complete projects awarded within the past 3 years. Relevant projects are defined as: contracts with a similar scope, size and complexity as this requirement. Include a project title, a detailed description of the services provided, contract amount, client identification including agency or company name, company address, telephone number, email and address and point of contact.

Capability statements must be submitted by Tuesday, June 1, 2010, 1:00pm EST via email to [email protected]. Reference the Sources Sought number in the subject line.

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